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Monthly Archives: February 2011

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Still have the bad habit that when things are not complete, (either I haven’t organize my thoughts to 100% or many things are all over the place that have no sequences) they don’t get to show face here.

Thus, many documentation don’t get to have the instantaneous effect of getting posted. But eventually, once they are sorted out, they will get to dance on the stage all at once. I wonder if this perfectionist’s completeness will make both me and others wonder will I make it till the end?

Series of photographic works entitled “Photo Opportunities”, from hundreds of snapshots of tourist locations found on the Internet.
By Madeline Yale.

In the essay, she also talks about how socially conditioned we are to take pictures we have seen before – images popularized through film, television, postcards, and the Internet.
In my opinion at the first glance, it greatly resemble Claude Monet’s impressionist painting. It seems to also reflect people’s impression of these tourist attraction even before they stood in front of them. Interesting project on accumulative data collection through photography.

According to the Buddhist tradition, all phenomena other than Nirvana, (sankhara) are marked by three characteristics, sometimes referred to as the Dharma seals, that is dukkha (suffering), anicca (impermanence), and anatta (non-Self).

Dukkha is one of those word that do not translate easily. Most translators use the word suffering to explain the meaning of Dukkha but it not really appropriate.

There are actually 3 kinds of Dukkha:

Physical and mental pain and suffering (pain induced by a cancer or the suffering of a mother who lost her child)

Impermanence or change bring dissatisfaction. When we are happy we usually don’t feel pain or suffering yet happiness is an impermanent state and it will bring dissatisfaction when it will fade. This dissatisfaction is part of a longing for another state of mind.

Conditioned states. This one is a little more tricky to understand. Each being are attached to 5 “states”:

Matter (brings greed)

Sensations (bring dependence)

Perceptions (brings inflexibility)

Mental Formations (brings close-mindedness)

Consciousness (brings selfishness)

One important lesson to learn from this law is that non-attachment (to things, ideas and feelings) are very important in order to transcend suffering.

Anicca 諸行無常 [しょぎょうむじょう] shogyoumujou

means impermanence. this impermanence permeates all phenomenon in nature and human society. A common image is that of a leaf, falling down a tree to be soon replaced by another. The same fallen leaf will decay and feed the tree it comes from, thus changing state again. Everything is a flow of change that carries all in its passage.

Human consciousness is subject to this law. We are always changing on many plans. You just have to remember how, as a kid, you didn’t like certain things, say coffee. Today, chances are that you now like coffee.

It’s a simple example but the truth is that impermanence plays an important role in our delivery from suffering. Since all states are impermanent and subject to change, so is our suffering. It is thank to this law of impermanence that we can attain Nirvana.

Anatta 無我 [むが] muga

Simply put, this law stipulates that we are not really an entity but a result of our perception of the world through the five collectors:

Originally the lotus was an idiom for water which was the source of life, fertility, many children, abundance, continuity and the right of kings. It played a major role in wishfulfillment and was used in religious and festive decorations. Buddhism employed the lotus as a simile for purity because of its habit of producing flowers that are untainted by the mud from which they arose. Simultaneously, it was a simile for beauty as attested by the numerous names that alluded to the lotus- lotus faced, lotus eyed, heart of the lotus. It also stood for detachment and enlightenment, the ability to rise above one’s circumstance and freedom from bias.

The lotus is the national flower of India and it symbolizes hope

The lotus made its appearance when the Mahayana school introduced the concept of the eternal Buddha the first Buddha who was shown sitting on a lotus throne was possibly the cosmic Buddha Amitabha.

Buddhism in China introduced a love for nature and the use of vegetal forms, a sense of gentleness and serenity.

From book The Lotus in the Buddhist art of India by Teoh Eng Soon, 2002

This symbolizes Bodhi, the state of total mental purity and spiritual perfection, and the pacification of our nature. It generally has eight petals corresponding to the Noble Eightfold Path of the Good Law. It is the lotus found at the heart of the GarbhadhatuMandala, being the womb or embryo of the world. It is characteristic of the esoteric sects, and the lotus of the Buddhas. From here

This is an expedition involving the artificial study of plant life.
Materials – Flexinol (shape memory alloy), recycled electronic components, specimen jars.
Ten propagated flower lamps from a living plant. Each flower lamp has a ‘death state’, until human interaction triggers its ‘life state’ and just for a brief moment, you may recapture the flowers in full bloom, and just like flowers, each lamp is uniquely formed and retains its own character.
When the viewer blows into the specimen jars, each flower begins a shape change. Blowing is the appropriate interaction as trees and plants grow on carbon dioxide.
Every living thing needs a home, plants change themselves to survive in their habitat.

Makoto Azuma has staged Mother Nature, and his unique vision makes us think twice about the subtle connectivity of his work. In his laboratory-cum-boutique in Tokyo, Makotot Azumo arranges haute-couture bouquets for a clientele that are becoming increasingly addicted to this ‘must haves.’ Prolific in his work, Azuma also likes to invest in places: Ark Hills, a former printing house that he rechristened AMPG (Azuna Makoto Private Gallery), 21-21 Design sight in Tokyo, the Cartier Foundation and Colette in Paris, and public baths on the Museum Island of Naoshima. He has collaborated with fashion designers such as Martin Margiela and Issey Miyake, as well as with labels like Adidas, for whom he designed the logo for a limited edition tennis series. Milan, Paris, New York, Düsseldorf…flower power is taking over once again thanks to Makoto Azuma and his botanical sculptures. At 34 years old, this florist has been honored with an invitation to the Japanese pavilion for the Shanghai World Exhibition next May. Another high-profile, international event for Azuma-sama.